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Barcodes

A barcode (the official term is GTIN or Global Trade Item Number) is a number represented in a machine readable form. Barcodes are generally represented in vertical lines of varying widths printed on labels to uniquely identify items.Labels are read with a scanner, which interprets the pattern or symbol into numbers and letters that are then passed onto a computer to retrieve original product data.

Why use Barcodes?

Barcodes enable the rapid and unambigous identification of products, assets, documents and people. Using a barcode can greatly reduce human error in data entry and processing, eliminate doubt caused by inconsistent approaches to product labelling and mistakes in reading handwriting.

There are a number of different types of barcode symbols being used today; these include the most widely known basic, linear or 1D barcodes (EAN 13) and the smaller GS1 DataBar Symbols to the latest technology in 2D GS1 Data Matrix codes.

Barcode Symbol Types

There are a number of symbologies among the GS1 family of barcodes or data carriers. These include: